The Walking Dead

EPHESIANS 2:1–3.

Now before some of you think about it, Im not preaching about the satanic tv series that is straight out of the pits of hell.

Im preaching about what we that are saved were and those that are still dead in their trespasses and sins are.

Now, If zombies were true and the dead could walk, that would frighten us beyond any level of fear known to man. Thank goodness zombies are fiction as far as the flesh eating and flesh rotting kind, but zombies do exsist in the flesh but look just like you and I. They live normal everyday lives like you and I do. They laugh and cry, they hurt and they feel worldly happiness. But, they are walking dead men.

Our text deals with a sobering reality for all of humanity. Apart from Christ, being saved by His grace and reconciled to God, we are all walking dead men.

We may not meet our physical death as soon as say a man condemned on death row, but those apart from Christ are literally in a state of “deadness”.

Those apart from Christ may enjoy a long and successful physical life, but spiritually they are dead in their sin.

This eternal truth is confirmed in Scripture, but it continues to be rejected by most.

The Gospel has been watered down to such a degree, that many in America assume they are Christians, simply by association, if nothing else.

Unfortunately, many do not even realize the severity of their situation.

I trust you will agree with the Bible and admit that all are born in sin, thus separated from God, and in danger of eternal judgment and condemnation in hell.

Within ourselves, we are helpless to do anything about our desperate situation.

In fact, we are dead in sin.

A dead man can do nothing about his deadness.

can a physically dead man walk?

can he talk?

can he restart his own heart?

No.

A dead man is just that , dead.

just as a physically dead man can do nothing to bring life to him self, a spiritually dead man can do nothing to please God.

As Paul begins this second chapter of his letter he begins with our pre-salvation past.

The picture is not good.

Verse 1 begins with “And you.”

To whom is he talking?

The Gentiles in Ephesus.

Then he says “all” and then “the others” (v. 3).

Paul covers everyone with these phrases.

He is not preparing to describe some degrading segment of society or some cannibalistic tribe somewhere. He’s talking about everyone.

This is the biblical diagnosis of our sinful nature (O’Brien, Ephesians, 156).

Paul shows us who we were before Christ with three descriptions.

I. Our Existence

Now our physical existence is dependent upon the very air we breath. If we cant breathe we cant live.

Now our spiritual existence is dependent upon ur relationship with Christ. Without Christ we do not have life.

John 10:10 KJV 1900

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 11:25 KJV 1900

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

So the first thing we see is...

The State of Man’s Existence

– Paul reveals that prior to salvation in Christ, being quickened (made alive) in Him, we were dead.

That is strong language, but we cannot ignore it; it is right there in the text, easily understood. Now, I am not speaking of physical death, but spiritual death.

Death signifies absence of communication with the living.

One who is dead spiritually has no communication with God; he is separated from God.

This is mans state naturally. Just as a physically dead man cant communicate with the living, a spiritually dead man cant communicate with God. He cant feel the goodness of God. He cant feel the peace of God that passeth all understanding.

Man’s sin in the garden brought about the death penalty to all men, it also brought about mans separation from God.

Before Adam sinned in the garden, he walked with God in the cool of the day. After Adam’s sin, he hid from God.

When God is calling out for Adam, it wasnt that God did not know where he was, it was to let Adam know that the close relationship that they once had was now broken.

God ment for man to always commune with Him.

In Gen.2:8-17, God gave Adam one rule, do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

God never intended man to know evil thats obvious, but we seem to look over the first word after “knowledge of”.

The word good.

God never intended man to know good or evil. If you know what is good then you have to know what is evil, therefore you have to know sin. God wanted man to only know Him.

Man broke the one and only rule that was given to him, and because of that, death was passed upon all men for all have sinned.

God gave man the death penalty physically and spiritually. He placed man at a distance and placed a great gulf between, and said I cant come and commune with you and you cant come and commune with me. At that point, man became spiritually dead.

And now Paul is telling his readers and us that this was our prior state and it is all humanity’s state with out Christ

Paul describes to us two ways this took place.

Now most commentators say that these two words mean pretty much the same thing and that they should be seen as such, but I say why did God place an and in between them?

I believe it is because God wanted us to know that you not only are dead because of your sins you are dead because you are sinner.

Take it like this, you are not a sinner because you sin, you sin because you are a sinner.

The Severity of Man’s Existence

1. The voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty, prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity.

Webster continues by saying, sin is original or actual. Actual sin, above defined, is the act of a moral agent in violating a known rule of duty.

Original sin, as generally understood, is native depravity of heart; that want of conformity of heart to the divine will, that corruption of nature or deterioration of the moral character of man, which is supposed to be the effect of Adam’s apostasy; and which manifests itself in moral agents by positive acts of disobedience to the divine will,

We were dead, committing trespasses, in a sinful state.

Thus we were wretched and culpable because of our trespasses and sins.

Now this is the complete opposite of what the world tells us about ourselves as humans.

The world tells us that we are basically good, and if we just believe in ourselves, then we can do anything.

While a spiritually dead person may indeed do amazing things.

make great works of art, play sports exceptionally well, make money, do humanitarian work—

but all of these things done in the flesh and for the individuals own glory is fruitless and does nothing to advance the kingdom of God because he can do nothing spiritually because he is not connected to the Vine.

Ephesians 2:1–3 could not be clearer.

Humans face a sad predicament. We are not morally good.

We are not neutral.

we were not “mostly dead.”

We were totally dead. And we needed a miracle that only God could perform.

The Next thing that we see is

II.Our Disobedience

Paul goes on to describe how we disobeyed God like our first parents did. Instead of following God, we followed three evil forces.

We Followed Society

Paul refers to sins “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,”

The unsaved person is controlled by the world’s influences, by the values of the age, which are contrary to God’s values.

The unsaved assume the attitudes, habits, and lifestyles of the culture, reflecting Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:1–5

2 Timothy 3:1–5 KJV 1900

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

In John’s words their lives are marked by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:15–17).

Consequently, we need Jesus to “deliver us from this present evil world” (Gal 1:4).

John also said that if you love the world, the love of the father is not in you.

Do you love the world and the things of the world?

Paul continues speaking about our disobedience,

We Followed Satan.

Paul describes the evil one’s work, “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (v. 2).

Ephesians speaks more about principalities and power than any other New Testament letter. And it draws attention to the power behind them: Satan (see 4:27; 6:11, 16).

“Ruler” or “prince” in the Old Testament was a term used for a national, local, or tribal leader.

In the Gospels Satan is the “prince of the devils” (Matt 9:34; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15) and the “prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).

Paul also refers to him as the “god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4).

The “spirit now working in the children of disobedience” describes how Satan works on unbelievers.

They are not completely possessed by Satan, but they are the children of the devil and do live in the world of darkness in which Satan holds sway.

He lays out the bait, and sinful people take it, disobeying God.

Paul leads in to the third way we were disobedient,

We Followed our Sinful Lusts.

Paul calls these “lust of the flesh”

These passions are associated in Galatians 5:16–21 and elsewhere with sins like anger, sexual immorality, idolatry, sorcery, jealousy, strife, dissension, and drunkenness.

In Romans Paul tells us the result of such a lifestyle: Rom 8:8

Romans 8:8 KJV 1900

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah put it this way: Jer 17:9

Jeremiah 17:9 KJV 1900

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Did Paul get carried away here?

No

Is our condition really this bad?

Yes, this is truth.

While humans bear the image of God, and sin has not destroyed the image of God completely, we are radically depraved and unable to come to God apart from new birth.

Our behavior is explained by all three of these influences—society, Satan, and sin.

They all play a part in the sinful condition of man.

Theologically, Paul is describing the doctrine of “total depravity”; that is, all aspects of our being have been infected with the deadly disease of sin.

Paul is also describing our “total inability”; that is, morally we are not capable of responding to God apart from grace.

The fact is we do not want to respond to God. But oh, how we need God’s grace!

Our Sentence (2:3b)

Man is condemned to death from conception.

“For as by one sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.”

“and in sin did my mother conceive me”

But man has another sentence that will come after the body takes its last breath.

Revelation 21:8 KJV 1900

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Why is this?

Because of Our Nature

Paul follows this by saying we were “by nature the children of wrath, even as others”

“The disobedient” in verse 2 are now children destined for wrath in verse 3, which is what we rightly deserved.

Our spiritual status could not be more tragic or hopeless.

We were justly under the judgment of God. He is right to condemn us in our sins

Why?

Because of God’s Character

God is holy, and He will not sweep sin under the rug.

Many think God in the Old Testament was a God of wrath but God in the New Testament is like Mr. Rogers.

Wrong. What we have now is a period of patience.

The door of mercy is open wide now, and we can come into this grace and be saved.

But the coming wrath of God is worse than anything in the Old Testament.

The words of Hebrews should humble us: “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!” (Heb 10:31).

God will act in a righteous manner, not in unrighteous revenge or in an outburst of anger.

He will punish sin and sinners justly.

The good news for the Christian is that God’s wrath has been poured out not on us but on the Savior.

Jesus drank the cup, a metaphor that describes the wrath of God.

He drank the cup, and we drink grace.

Bless His holy name.

God sent His Son for all the world to be saved. God does not want anyone to perish.

Conclusion

Seeing what our past condition was, I wonder is there anyone in here this morning that can be honest with themselves and God and say preacher, I still am that way.

I am still dead in my trespasses and sins

I am still a child of disobedience

and I know I will incure the wrath of God and I will have to face the second death.

If that is you this morning, would you raise your hand?

Now those of us here that know with out a shadow of a doubt that we are no longer dead and are alive in Christ

maybe you need to come this morning and just think God for what He has done for you.